Living in Southern China, summer came as blizzards were still blowing through the Eastern seaboard and hurricanes wreaked havoc in the South. The sole saving grace of living in a miserably hot and humid climate is the availability of tropical fruits that litter the fruit stands starting as early as March.
What looks like cute Hello Kitty purses that pile over the fruit stands near my home are actually a fruit called the mangosteen. Found throughout Eastern and Southern Asia, the mangosteen is akin to the lychee in its flavor and physical characteristics. To be more precise, once the chestnut-like outer peel is surprisingly easily peeled away, a powder white flesh is revealed. Clumped in tangerine-like segments around a small bulbous pit, the flesh has the texture and taste of both a sweet red grape and a lychee, with a teeny bit of tang to prevent the sweetness from knocking you out. With an obviously tropical flavor profile that can’t be found in the States, I’ve become addicted to the refreshing, sweet and supple characteristics of the mangosteen.
It just happens to be mangosteen season at the moment, and at $2 a dozen, it wasn’t hard to come home with a bagful. While they are perfect on their own, I happened to have recently studied the granita section while flipping through David Lebovitz’s must-have summer cookbook: The Perfect Scoop. Inspired by the recipes, the heat, as well as my bag of mangosteens and the few mangoes sitting next to it on my kitchen counter, a granita recipe emerged to highlight the abundance of mangosteens both at the market and on my mind.
Mango & Mangosteen: A Tropical Granita
- Total Time: 4 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
A refreshing tropical granita featuring the unique flavors of mangosteen and mango, perfect for cooling down on a hot day.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (240 mL) mangosteen segments and its juices, about 12 mangosteens
- 2 cups (475 mL) mangoes, peeled, pitted, and sliced, about 4 small yellow mangoes
- 1 cup (240 mL) water
- 1/4 cup (60 mL) sugar
- Juice of 1/2 lime
Instructions
- Combine the mangoes and mangosteen segments in a blender. Blend until smooth.
- Strain the blended mixture through a fine-meshed sieve to remove any pulp or seeds.
- In a bowl, mix the strained fruit puree with water, sugar, and the juice of 1/2 lime. Stir until the sugar is fully dissolved.
- Pour the mixture into a shallow baking dish and place it in the freezer.
- After 1 hour, use a fork to scrape the mixture, breaking up any ice crystals that have formed. Return to the freezer.
- Continue to scrape the granita every 30 minutes for 3 more hours, or until the mixture is fully frozen and has a fluffy, granular texture.
- Serve immediately or store in the freezer until ready to serve. If stored, scrape again before serving to refresh the texture.
Notes
To remove the peel and pit of a mango: Laying the mango on its side, slice off the top and bottom of the mango and set the fruit on its base. Using a sharp knife, run the blade along the peel starting from the top to the bottom. To peel a mangosteen, gently press on the outer shell until it cracks, then peel away the shell to reveal the segments. Granita can be stored in the freezer for up to a week. Scrape with a fork before serving to refresh the texture.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: Asian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 120
- Sugar: 28
- Sodium: 2
- Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 31
- Fiber: 2
- Protein: 1
- Cholesterol: 0
this is really interesting. I love mango, but have never tried mangosteen
I LOVE LOVE mangosteen and mango but never thought of them together! yum
I know, I can’t get enough of mangosteens now that I’ve tried them! Truthfully though, I only thought to combine them together because of their names- but I’m so happy I did!